With Sri Lanka series around the corner, former India skipper Gautam Gambhir has thrown his weight behind star India southpaw Ishan Kishan to be India's first choice opener alongside current Men in Blue's captain Rohit Sharma in One Day Internationals.
Kishan recently shot to fame riding on a record double century in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram few days back. Kishan made the most of his first ODI century and coverted it into a double ton which came off in just 126 which was the fastest in ODI history. Sans Shikhar Dhawan in India's ODI squad for the Sri Lanka three-match series which is scheduled to played from January 10, Gambhir feels Kishan should take the onus of being Rohit's opening partner.
"I'm amazed we're discussing this because someone's got a double-hundred in the previous innings. The discussion is over. It has to be Ishan Kishan. Someone who can get a double-hundred in those conditions against a reasonable attack, especially at home, should play," Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.
The 24-year-old Kishan has also found a spot in India's three-match T20I series which is slated to be played from January 3.
"He got what 200 by the 35th over mark? You can't look at anyone beyond Ishan Kishan. He has to be given a longer run. He can also keep wickets as well, so he can do two jobs for you. So for me, that discussion shouldn't be there. If someone else had got a double-hundred, I think we would've gone gung-ho over that individual, but it's not the case with Ishan Kishan. Because we still continue to talk about other players. For me, that debate is over," Gambhir added.
Gambhir also gave his two cents on Suryakumar Yadav's chances in ODIs despite his not so impressive show in the format. Suryakumar has scored 384 runs in 16 ODIs, decorated with two half-centuries.
"It's very difficult to look beyond Rohit and Ishan Kishan to open the batting, Virat at three, Surya at four, [and] Shreyas at five, because he's been incredible in the last one-and-a-half years. Yes, he's had issues against the short ball, but he's been able to manage it. You can't be the best against everything but if you're able to manage it and got the numbers going for you, you can't look beyond Shreyas at No. 5 and Hardik [Pandya] at 6," Gambhir concluded.
India's squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.
India's squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
India vs Sri Lanka series full schedule
Tuesday, January 3: 1st T20 match- At Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, at 7:00 PM IST
Thursday, January 5: 2nd T20 match-At Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, at 7:00 PM IST
Saturday, January 7: 3rd T20 match-At Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot, at 7:00 PM IST
Tuesday, January 10: 1st ODI- At Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, at 2:00 PM IST
Thursday, January 12: 2nd ODI- At Eden Gardens, Kolkata, at 2:00 PM IST
Sunday, January 15: 3rd ODI- At Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, at 2:00 PM IST
